Abba is a form of ab, meaning "father" in many
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic,
Amharic, Tigrinya language, Tigrinya, Aramaic, Hebrew language, Hebrew, Maltese language, Maltese, Modern South Arabian language ...
. It is used as a given name, but was also used as a title or honorific for religious scholars or leaders.
[ See there that the term "Imma" also functions at times as an honorific in the ]Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
, paralleling the male equivalent "Abba". For example, Ima Shalom, who is one of the few women who are named and quoted in the Talmud. (The word
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
has the same root.)
Persons with the given name Abba, or who are known by that title
Jewish religious personalities
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Rabbi Abba (3rd-4th century), religious scholar
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Abba of Acre (3rd century), religious scholar
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Abba Arika (175–247), Babylonian religious scholar
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Abba bar Abba (2nd-3rd century), Babylonian religious scholar
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Abba bar Abina (3rd century), Palestinian religious scholar
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Abba bar Zabdai (3rd century), Palestinian religious scholar
*''Abba ben Joseph bar Ḥama'' (270–350), Babylonian religious scholar known in the
Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
as
Rava
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Abba Mordechai Berman (1919–2005), Polish rabbi and religious scholar
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Abba Hilkiah (1st century),
Hasidic sage
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Abba Hillel Silver (1893–1963), U.S. Rabbi and Zionist leader
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Abba Hoshaya of Turya (3rd century), pious wool-washer
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Abba Jose ben Hanan (1st century), sage and
tanna
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Abba Judan (2nd century), philanthropist
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Abba Mari (13th-14th century), French rabbi
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Abba Mari ben Simson Anatoli (c. 1194–1256), French scholar and translator of Arabic texts
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Abba Yudan (3rd century), Palestinian religious scholar
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Raba (Rabbah) Bar Jeremiah (also called "Abba"), Talmudist
Jimma rulers
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Abba Bok'a (died 1862), a ruler of the
Kingdom of Jimma in what is today southwestern
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
*
Abba Gomol, ruler of the
Kingdom of Jimma 1862–78; son of Abba Bok'a
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Abba Jifar I (ruled 1830 - c. 1855), king of the
Kingdom of Jimma
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Abba Jifar II (ruled 1878–1932), king of the
Kingdom of Jimma
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Abba Jofir, Ethiopian aristocrat briefly (1932) king of the
Kingdom of Jimma
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Abba Magal (c. 1800),
Oromo leader, father of Abba Jifar I, founder of the
Kingdom of Jimma
Others
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Abba (count) (734?–768), Frisian count
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Abba Thulle (), ibedul of Koror
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Abba Ahimeir (1897–1962), Russian Jewish journalist, historian, and Zionist
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Abba Cohen (born 1955/1956), American Orthodox Jewish advocate
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Abba Eban (1915–2002), Israeli diplomat and politician, and President of the
Weizmann Institute of Science
The Weizmann Institute of Science ( ''Machon Weizmann LeMada'') is a Public university, public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, fourteen years before the State of Israel was founded. Unlike other List of Israeli uni ...
*
Abba Gerasimus (5th century),
Lycia
Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğ ...
n Christian monk and abbot revered as a
saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
*
Abba Gindin (b. 1946), Finnish/Israeli ice hockey player
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Abba Habib (), Nigerian politician
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Abbot "Abbie" Hoffman (1936–1989), whose Hebrew name was Abba
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Abba Hushi (1898–1969), Israeli politician
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Abba Kovner (1918–1987), Lithuanian Jewish/Israeli poet, writer, and partisan leader
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Abba Kyari (1938–2020), Nigerian military officer, governor, and business leader
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Abba P. Lerner (1903–1982), American economist
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Abba Musa Rimi (b. 1940), Nigerian politician, governor of
Kaduna State
Kaduna (, جىِهَر كَدُنا; مدينة كدونا; , ; ) is a States of Nigeria, state in the northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna (city), Kaduna, which was the List of Nigerian ...
*
Abba Goold Woolson (1838–1921), American writer
See also
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Avva
References
{{Given name, Abba
Jewish feminine given names
Jewish masculine given names
Nigerian masculine given names
Nigerian feminine given names